Convertible slide



June 17, 1958 G. WEISS 2,839,299

CONVERTIBLE SLIDE Filed June 7, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 INVENTOR.

June 17, 1958 v 5. WEISS 2,839,299

CONVERTIBLE SLIDE Filed June 7, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

- BY 62mm I/IZz'ms' June 17, 1958 .w 1ss CONVERTIBLE SLIDE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 7, 1954 United States This invention relates to an amusement device for children, designed as a combination structure convertible as desired into a seesaw, sliding board, swing, or other amusement device, and adapted specifically to be mounted within a door opening.

One important object of the present invention is to provide a device as described which is particularly usable indoors, while still providing a wide variety of amusement devices for the child.

Another object is to provide an amusement device which can be mounted in a conventional door opening, without marring the finish of the door frame, and without the necessity of forming holes or otherwise affecting the appearance of the door frame.

Another object is to provide an amusement device as described which can be mounted within a door frame with maaimurn speed and facility, and can be removed from its position in the door opening with equal facility, without leaving any evidence of its having been supported by the door frame within the door opening.

Still another object is to provide an amusement device of the nature described which, by reason of a novel design thereof, can be readily convertible into any one of a plurality of difierent devices, such as a seesaw, sliding board, swing, chinning bar, glider, and rope climbing bar.

Still another object is to provide an amusement device of the nature referred to which will be compact in design, so as to permit its shipment and storage in a minimum amount of space, will be readily assembled with a minimum of clifiiculty, will be capable of manufacture at relatively low cost considering the benefits to be obtained from the use thereof, and will be fully portable.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the device in use as a seesaw or teeter board, mounted in a conventional door frame, the door frame and associated wall being shown in perspective with said wall being fragmentarily illustrated.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially on line 33 of Fi 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view, still further enlarged, substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, the support board not being shown.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, detail sectional view taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the device in use as a sliding board,

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken on line 77 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view, portions being broken away, showing the device as seen from the line 33 of Fig. 7.

atent inw- Fig. 9 is a perspective view, partly broken away, showing the device in use as a swing.

Fig. 10 is a greatly enlarged, fragmentary perspective view illustrating the means for suspending the board from its associated support bar when the board is to be used as a swing seat.

The reference numeral 10 has been applied generally in the several figures of the drawing to a conventional interior door frame, having the vertical side jambs 12, a conventional door 14 being hinged at 16 on one of said jambs.

The device constituting the present invention includes a horizontally disposed support bar 18. The bar 18 is so designed as to be adjustable to selected lengths, so as to fit the bar into any of various door openings differing from one another in respect to the width thereof.

Support bar 18, as best shown in Fig. 3, includes intermediate its ends a tubular body or main portion 20 formed open at its opposite ends, a pair of tubular extensions 22 being slidably telescoped in the open ends of said body. Within the body, medially between the opposite ends thereof, a cylindrical block 24 is welded or otherwise fixedly secured, and fixedly secured at their inner ends to opposite ends of said block, and extending coaxially in opposite directions from the block, are threaded shanks 26, 23, one having right-hand threads and the other having left-hand threads.

The outer ends of the shankslo, 28 are threadedly engaged in complementarily threaded, exteriorly cylindrical nut elements 3%, 3?. welded or otherwise fixedly secured to and within the inner ends of the extensions 22.

iametrically extending openings as (Fig. 4) are formed in the rnidlength part of block 24, in registration with diametrically opposite apertures 36 of body 20. An elongated pin 33 is removably extendable into either of the registering openings 34 and apertures 36, whenever the length of the bar 18 is to be adjusted. It will be appreciated that to adjust the length of said bar, it is only necessary that the pin 38 be inserted in the manner shown in Fig. 4, after which the projecting end of the pin can be grasped and turned in a selected direction. This will cause the extensions 22 to be simultaneously extended or retracted relative to the body 29, as desired, to increase or shorten the length of the bar 18.

Rigidly secured by welds or equivalent means to the outer ends of the extensions 22 are flat, circular collars 19 extending circumferentially of the extensions. Collars 49 are formed with stems 41 adapted to frictionally engage into the free end of extensions 22 and lie in planes normal to the longitudinal center lines of the extensions 22., and are adapted to bear against flat, generally rectangular plates 42 formed of soft rubber material or the like, the plates 42 having low marginal flanges 44 forming recesses in the plates snugly receiving the collars 40. The flanges 42, though illustrated as being rectangular in the present embodiment of the invention, could be circularly formed as well, if desired, to define circular recesses complementing the collar 40, this being considered sufficiently obvious as not to require special illustration herein.

it will be appreciated that the plates 42. serve not only to protect the finish of the door frames from being marred when the bar is engaged thereagainst, but also to increase the frictional engagement between the end of the bar and the inner surfaces of the jambs 12, to fixedly secure the bar in position. The bar is horizontally disposed at a selected elevation above the floor surface, with the ends thereof being seated in the recessed plates, and said plates being engaged against the side jambs l2. Thereafter, the rod 38 is turned in a direction to extend the bar to force the collars 40 outwardly, causing said collars to bear firmly against the plates, thus compressing the plates and insuring that the bar 18 will be firmly supported against accidental downward movement from the desired position. It will be seen that this eliminates the necessity of drilling the door or otherwise acting upon the same,.and it will be further observed that whenever the amusement device is notin use, the bar can be swiftly removed from the position thereof illustrated in the drawings, by inserting rod "38 and rotating it in a direction to decrease the overall length of the bar. A few turns of the rod 38 will, under these circumstances, shorten the bar sufficiently to cause the same to be freed from engagement by the door frames, thus permittin the bar and the plates 42 to be removed bodily.

An elongated supporting board or plate, designated generally at 46, which can be formed from conventional flat wood stock if desired, is provided said plate 46 having straight, parallel longitudinal edges. Low side walls 50 are secured to the longitudinal edges of the plate 46 by screws 51 or the like, spaced longitudinally of the plate and side walls. The sidewalls are shorter in length than the plate 46, thus to provide extensions 52 projecting beyond the opposite ends of the side walls 59, the extensions 52 being reduced in width relative to the main or body portion of the plate 46, and being formed as generally rounded projections upon which a child mayseat himself, astride the plate.

Extending transversely of the plate 46, and spaced inwardly from the ends of the plate adjacent the reduced projections 52 are handles 56. These are. secured by screws or equivalent fastening elements to the plate, on one surface thereof.

The plate 46 is lined with a metal slide plate 48 at one side thereof so that the device may be used as a sliding board as illustrated in Fig. 6

When the device is to be used as a seesaw, it is positioned as shown in Figs. 1-3 of the drawings. Notches 54, formed in the side walls 50 intermediate the opposite ends thereof, are aligned transversely of the board 46, and receive the support bar 18, thus to fulcrum the board 46 for swinging movement about a transverse axis medially between the opposite ends thereof, upon the bar 18. The children making use of'the device may now seat themselves astride the projections 52, grasping the handles 56, which in this form of the device are extended upwardly as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The device may now be used as a seesaw or teeter board.

Referring now to Figs. 6-8, the device may also be used readily as a sliding board. Under these circumstances, a pair of metal loops 58 are positioned upon r the opposite ends of the tubular body '20, extending circumferentially of said body, each loop 58 being integrally formed with a radially projecting ear 59 having transversely aligned openings 60.

A pair of links 62, disposed in parallel relation and spaced transversely of the board 46 at one end thereof,

are respectively formed at opposite ends thereof with hooks 64, 66, the hooks 64 being disposed at right angles to the hooks 66 in the illustrated embodiment. Hooks 64 are adapted to be engaged in selected ones of the apertures 60, while the hooks 66 are similarly engaged in transversely aligned eyes 68 threaded into the plate 46 adjacent the ends of said plate 46.

It will be seen from Figs. 7 and 8 that in this arrangement, one of the reduced Width projections 52 is supported directly upon the midlength part of the tubular body 20, the board 46 being disposed in an inclined position to provide a sliding board. Further, it will be noted that in this arrangement, the board is inverted relative to the position thereof shown in Fig. 1, that is, the side walls 50, instead of extending downwardly from the plate 46, extend upwardly therefrom to provide protective sides for the sliding board. The links 62, being formedof stoutrod material, hold the sliding board in place, and prevent the same from slipping oh the .bar 18.

Referring now to Figs. 9 and 10, the device is here to receive S-hooks 76. In'other words, at their upper ends the cables 70 are connected to S-hooks 76, with the cables being disposedin pairs spaced longitudinally of the board 46, the S-hooks. associated with the upper ends ofthe cables ofeachpair being extended through the side by side apertures 60 of one of the loops '58. The. lower ends of the cables of each pair are similarly connected to S-hooks 76 that in this instance are engaged.

in the eyes 68 adjacent the associated end of the board 46. The board 46, when supported in this manner, can

be used as a support for a child, with the child being seated upon the board between the pairs'of cables 70, thereby to permit the device to be used as a swing, with the board swinging in the direction shown by the arrows in Fig. 9.

The device can also be used as a longitudinally shiftable glider, the device in this event being supported in the same manner as the swing, but being reciprocably shifted by children seated astride the projections 52, in the direction of the length of the board 46.

Other uses for the several components of the device, or selected ones of the components, can be readily found. For example, the board 46 might in some instances not be used, with the bar 18 being supported at a high elevation and with the cables 70 being hooked to and depending from the respective loops 58. The cables can then, while freely depending from the bar 18, be used for climbing exercises. Further, the bar 18 can be used alone as a chinning bar. These area few of the examples of the various uses to which the. device can be put if desired.

Of course, when the device is not to be used in any manner, the severalparts thereof can be readily separated, and the bar 18 can be readily removed from'en-' gagement with its associated support means. The entire device can then be compactly stored away.

While I have illustrated and described. the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications comingwithin the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent 1s: 5

An amusement device comprising spaced vertical supports a horizontal bar supported by and between said supports, said bar being adjustable as to length so as to extend the full distance between said supports, means at opposite ends of the bar frictionally engaging said supports, a board connected to said bar, said board including an elongated, flat plate having reduced ends. de-

fining seats for users supported thereon, said connectionincluding loops spaced longitudinally of said bar, transversely spaced eyes secured to said plate adjacent one end thereof, and links connected between the eyes and loops, for connection of the board to said bar in an inclined condition for use as a sliding board.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 955,135 Chlad Apr. 19, 1910 1,519,432 Ziemss Dec. 16, 1924 1,660,139 Shellabarger Feb. 21, 192-8 2,637,555 Klaudt May 5, 1953 

